Rurouni Kenshin: Arashi no Hitomi
by Shadow Chaser
Summary: Kenji Himura, now a 17yearold swordsman, must protect all those he loves and are dear to him as a very old foe comes back from his father's past to challenge him. [Alternate Universe] [ON HOLD]
1. The Age of a New Era: Beyond the Meiji G...

Beyond Rurouni Kenshin: The Meiji Era: Arashi no Hitomi (The Eye of the Storm)

By: Shadow Chaser

Started: 7/29/02.  Completed: 

**_Timeline: Meiji Era – 1898 (Meiji 30)_**

**Author's Notes/SPOILER WARNING:**

            This story is based mostly off of the manga version, with slight changes following the Episodes 1-63 of the anime series.  For those who have not read the Revenge Arc/Jinchuu Arc this will feature quite a bit of spoilers.  **Also for those who have not seen the 2nd OAV – Seishou Hen, this will also be featured in here.**  I changed some of the events in the OAV to suit my own purposes in this fic.  Pointer One: I kept Kaoru alive…for many reasons, which will be explained in the fic.  I do not own any of the Rurouni Kenshin characters; they belong to Watsuki Nobuhiro-sama who is the creator and God of Rurouni Kenshin.  Please do not sue for infringement.  This fic has more of the Rurouni Kenshin anime feel (slapstick silliness and seriousness at the same time).

**Summary:**

Seventeen year-old Kenji Himura had lived a life in the shadows of his infamous father, the Hitokiri Battousai.  Now, he makes his own path in the grooves of history.  A rebellion has started up once more, but now it is time for a new swordsman to take up the sakabatou once again and defend his country, home, and family.

**Historical Notes:**

According to history, the Sino-Japanese War was from 1894-1895.  This makes Kenshin roughly 44-45 years old and makes his son, Kenji, 13-14 years old.  By the time Aritomo Yamagata asked Kenshin to help in the Sino-Japanese War, he was already suffering from a form of arthritis and a skin condition that left him in pain.  Of course with his weakened health, coupled with the fact that his body could not handle the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu, he died.

_Chapter 1 – The Age of a New Era: Beyond the Meiji Generation_

A red-haired young man, willowy and sinewy as about a woman, walked down the busy morning streets of Tokyo, a calm expression written on his calm face.  Many knew him, but many did not bother him.  Many admired him, but many shied away from him.  Women looked at him from afar, their sighs blowing carbon dioxide into the air.  Many of the women would want to be next to him, to follow him dutifully, but many did not.  Many men would like to be in his place, yet many of them feared what would happen if they were.  But no one bothered him so, just only inclined a polite nod of their heads as he also nodded a greeting to them…no one would bother him as he took his daily morning stroll of the city except for one…

"KENJI-CHAN!!!"

The piercing cry of a very high voice brought all stops to the place where Kenji Himura was walking along, eliciting some murmurs and laughter as he winced slightly at the voice that called his name from behind.  He steeled himself to ignore the voice and continue to walk in a dignified pace, trying to keep the last shreds of his dignity from falling apart.

But that wasn't to last as something suddenly knocked into him from behind, making him stumble slightly and a whoosh of air left him as a person snaked their arms around him, engulfing him in a bear hug.  He staggered slightly, then turned and smiled slightly at the clinging form of his best friend, Chizuru Raikouji.

"Ohayoo, Chi-chan," he greeted politely, then took her hands and unwrapped them from his waist.  After letting go of her hands, he frowned as he tried to readjust his hakama, gi and the sakabatou that hung from his left side.

"Aww…don't do that Kenji-chan," Chizuru stepped from behind him and stood in front of him, peering up at his concentrated face with a smile, "you look better like that.  Makes all the women in Tokyo want to drool after you."

Kenji felt a rise of heat erupt within his face and his murmured underneath his breath, "Yeah…but I don't like that…"

"What did you say Kenji-chan?" Chizuru teased, patted him on a head like a pet and Kenji felt even more heat rise up on his face.

"Nothing," he mumbled.  _Oro…why did this have to happen to me?_ He wondered if the Gods had a wicked sense of humor or was it just his luck that he had a best friend who was adept in the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu _and_ could embarrass him without a care, with her words and charm.  Though he knew Chizuru wasn't a master yet at the kenjutsu his mother and Yahiko-oji taught, she was able to defend herself on more than one occasion as he had the privilege to witness.

Chizuru came from a wealthy family who was faring well, but she was the rebellious one and even took on a different name for herself while she learned kenjutsu at the Kamiya Dojo.  It was one of these days when she was done with her lesson late into the night that she had bid them goodnight and went home.  He had followed her quietly, fearing for the safety of little girl and it was on the order of her kenjutsu master, Yahiko, that he would tail quietly her until she reached the gate of her home.

Halfway through the trip to the other side of Tokyo, a bunch of bandits had jumped out in front of her and Kenji was about to jump into the fray with his sakabatou that he had inherited from his father indirectly, when within three slashes of the shinai that Chizuru owned, she had dispelled at least two of her attackers and looked set to take down the third and fourth one.  The battle was over in a few minutes and Kenji watched from the shadows, surprised at how good this girl was since he had only seen on occasion because he was training with his father's former master, Seijuro Hiko.

He had admired and respected her skills from a distance, but upon completion of his training, well…half completed since Hiko adamantly refused to teach him the last two techniques of the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu, he had returned home and was officially introduced to Chizuru Raikouji as well as the other students training under the Kamiya Dojo.

But the introduction was very bittersweet as he had been happy to meet Chizuru and the other students, but he was also a very angry young boy back all those four years ago.  He had hated his father with a passion since he left for the Sino-Japanese War across to mainland China, and wanted to defeat him when he came back using the same style his father used, but he had found out that his father died from tuberculosis upon return, a week prior to his arrival after finding out that Yahiko had been sent to Kyoto to retrieve him back to see his ailing mother.

Even though he still bore a grudge against his father, it had left him empty and saddened.  It hurt him so much to see his mother struggling against the tears that kept pouring down her face when they had buried Kenshin Himura in a grave near the corner of the walls encompassing the Dojo, but then something within him urged him to ask about his father's life; not as the Rurouni or Battousai, but as a human.  And now…though he still bore a slight hatred, it wasn't a bright flame anymore.

He had found out through his father's friends, master, and associates what his father did and afterwards, came to respect Kenshin Himura, the former Hitokiri Battousai of the Meiji Revolution, a Rurouni afterwards, and now, a loving husband and father.

Roughly a month later, he had challenged Yahiko Myojin _again_, his adoptive brother, to a duel for the ownership of the sakabatou that belonged to Kenshin, but somehow, even he didn't know, he lost the duel.  Yet, a few weeks later, on his birthday, he had received his father's sakabatou as a gift.  But he suspected that Yahiko had planned to give him the sakabatou, and even got himself a new one, made by the knife-maker Seiku Arai as a special thank-you request.  Though Kenji figured Yahiko and his slightly impulsive nature tried to beat it out of poor Arai-san…

When he had noticed that Yahiko had gotten a new sakabatou, he had challenged him one more time, but Yahiko waved him off, saying that he was too young to challenge anyone with his skinny form.  Kenji had gotten fed-up with his adoptive uncle and declared that one day he will challenge him and defeat him…but at the moment…he was hungry.

"KENJI!!!" Chizuru yelled in his ear, making him snap out of his little reverie and glance down at his stomach that was growling in a continuous voice.

He smiled sheepishly and rubbed his stomach, "Eh…I guess we better head back to the Dojo.  "Okaasan will be worried," he gave her a slightly goofy grin to which she smack him up on the head.

"Ahh…What is wrong with you Kenji-chan?" Chizuru asked as they started to head back to the Dojo.  "You're spacing out all over the place!  Come on, get a grip on reality!"

"Oro?" Kenji had a bemused look on his face.  He knew that he shouldn't space out so much, but he had a lot to think by himself without worrying his friends too much.  _At this rate, I'll be a moody silent person_, he mentally chided himself.

"Don't you be 'oro-ing' me Kenji-chan!" she laughed, "besides, it's a bright morning so you should feel refreshed."

"But I do Chi-chan," he protested as she walked next to him, skipping slightly, "summer brings the best…"

"Ummhmm," she agreed then stopped in front of a flower vendor who was selling a myriad of different colors of flowers.  "Hmm…which one to choose…"

Kenji sighed and dug around his gi for any spare change he had within and grinned.  He had just enough money… "Two white plum blossoms, and one iris please," he held out his money to which the vendor smiled and took then got up and poked around the tubs of flowers he owned.  A few seconds later, he produced what Kenji thought were the three most beautiful stalks of flowers he had ever seen.

"One for ojousan, one for your mother, and one for your father," the vendor handed Chizuru a white plum blossom, and the other blossom plus the iris to Kenji who blinked in surprise.

"Uh…how did you know?" he asked, confused.

"It is the summer…and everyone knows of the Kamiya Dojo, Himura-san, and of you…Kenji Himura," the vendor smiled pleasantly then waved them off with a gentle hand, "now, be off…I have a feeling that your breakfast isn't going to be there in a few minutes."

"Arigatou," Kenji bowed his head slightly then walked away.

After a few steps he turned back to see Chizuru fiddling with the white plum blossom he had brought for her and sighed.  "It goes like this," he reached over and plucked the blossom from her fumbling hands then twisted off some of the unneeded stems and stuck it near her right ear in her shiny black hair.

"Arigatou, Kenji-chan," Chizuru blushed slightly and Kenji just shook the odd feeling that was overcoming him.  In all of his years that he had known his best friend, he had never seen her blush before and for some odd reason it made him very happy.

"Come on," he gestured for her to follow, "I get the feeling that Yahiko will eat everything if we're not back."

"Hai!  Let's go!" Chizuru seemed to snap out of whatever funk she was in and was back to her cheerful self.  They hurried back to the Kamiya Dojo, unaware that a pair of eyes was following them from the shadows.

                                    *                      *                      *

When Kenji arrived at his home he found it bustling with morning activity.  Some of the local students had already arrived and he found Yahiko running them through with the morning katas and warm-ups.  Over on the side, Ayame Gensai and Suzume Gensai, both grown-up and in their mid-twenties, were hanging some fresh laundry to dry up.  But around their legs ran some of the young siblings of the students of the Kamiya Dojo, demanding that they hurry up and finish their chores and come play with them.

On the other side of the main complex of the Dojo, he saw a few people sitting next to the koi pond they had installed a few years ago, but he couldn't really make out whom they were or what they were talking about.

"Oi!  Raikouji, you're late!" Yahiko's voice called from the practicing students side.  Kenji noted that he didn't look too happy, but then again, taking the role of the master of the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu, he never looked happy.

"Sumimasen, Myojin-sensei," Chizuru bowed slightly then with a light touch to Kenji's shoulder she quickly went over to where her pack was next to a tree and took out her shinai.  Running to join the others, Kenji noted that her blossom still held in her hair and grinned slightly.

Continuing on, he ventured into the main complex of the Dojo and walked to his mother's room.  Opening the door slightly, he let a fond smile creep up to his lips as he watched her sleep lightly.  He cared for his mother deeply and it worried him to see her in such a fragile state.  The doctors, even Megumi Takani whom he had been acquainted to, but didn't really know too well, said that she had a debilitating illness that weakened her health greatly.  It worried him that she might contract tuberculosis like his father and he didn't know what he would do if she had the disease.

Sliding the door open, he knelt down next to her bed and placed both flowers by the right side of the futon where his father used to sleep, then moved to the other side and prodded her gently.

"Okaasan, wake up," he nudged her gently and she turned over.

"Kenji?" she murmured sleepily and he smiled as her eyes flickered open.

"Daijoubu, okaasan?" he asked as she stretched slightly then covered her mouth with the back of her hand as a yawn escaped.

"Better, Kenji," she still had sleepiness lacing her voice, but she was coming awake.  "You need not worry about me…"

"Hai, but I've brought you something," he gestured to her left and as she sat up, she turned.  He only got a glimpse of her eyes widening in either surprise or shock, he didn't know, but she turned back around and a smile was on her face.

"An iris?" she asked.

"Hai."

"Arigatou, Kenji," she gave his arm a brief squeeze, "and a white plum blossom…I'm sure Kenshin would love that."

"Hai…Shisho told me that he loved white plums, but for whatever reason, he didn't say…" he trailed off as she suddenly had a closed expression on her face, "is it something I said?"

Kaoru laughed lightly, "Maa maa, Kenji…nothing.  Its okay…" she turned to where the iris and white plum laid, "will you be visiting him today?"

"Hai," Kenji nodded, "but not during the day.  Too many people and I feel kind of uncomfortable.  I will go in the night before I sleep."

"Then I better get some water and a vase for these two," she started to move from the bed and Kenji watched as she seemingly summoned her old strength back and started to move around effortlessly.

"Did you have breakfast?" she asked as she got a vase and poured some of the water she had been drinking during the night into the vase then set the two flowers in it.

"Iie…not yet at least," he scratched the back of his head, feeling his the wisps of his red hair touch the nape of his neck.

"Then let's go," Kaoru set the vase down next to her futon and offered a hand to him.

                                    *                      *                      *

When Kenji had finished a hearty breakfast, though he had to swallow some of his mother's burnt cooking with a fake smile plastered to his face, he walked outside and sat down on the porch, watching Yahiko run the other students through various drills.  He lifted his sakabatou out of its place on his left side and let rest against his shoulder as he watched the students spar with an invisible opponent.

His gaze wandered to where Chizuru was effortlessly flowing from one different stroke to the next, the white plum blossom a blur against the blackness of her hair.  She did look prettier with the blossom in her hair he decided as she finished with the last stroke then took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

When she opened them once more, he found them staring back at him and she waved.  He nodded his head in acknowledgement until someone kicked him in the back and he went flying face first into the ground.

"Oro…" he managed to squeak out as his face was in the dirt.  He immediately snapped to focus when a booming laughter came from behind him, a laughter that sounded vaguely familiar.  _Ohhh…I am so going to get whoever pushed me…_

He flipped onto his feet and turned around, clutching his sakabatou in a death grip and his eyes blazed with fury…  "Sanosuke?!"

"Right on kid," Sanosuke Sagara's face wasn't much older, except for the fact that he was graying early on the sides of his temples…but he was still wearing a cocky smile and chewing on the ever-present fishbone.

"Ah!  What the hell did you do that for, busu!" he yelled at his surrogate uncle, and was irritated to see the grin on Sano's face grow even wider.

"Ugly?  That what you callin' me, Kenji?" Sano pounded a fist into the middle of his head and Kenji winced but was even more irritated as Sano continued to laugh.

"No, I should call you bakayaro," he replied as soon as Sano lifted his fist, but was ready to duck out of the way of his fist again until a shrill voice broke them apart.

"Sanosuke Sagara!  Don't you dare touch my boy!" Kaoru's voice still had strength after all these years and both men turned around to see Kaoru holding a wooden bokken, waving it around.

"Jo-chan!" Sano called out, looking both sheepish and happy at the same time, "daijabou?"

"I'm fine for the final time!  It's not like I'm going to break any second!" Kaoru looked exasperated and Kenji blinked.  He had never seen his mother look so…so…happy in all his life, except maybe when he was younger, but he didn't really remember much then…

"Hit my husband, and you'll regret it," a sensual voice spoke behind them and Kenji turned to see the famous doctor Megumi Takani…or was it Megumi Sagara since she was clinging onto Sano possessively while giving Kenji's mother a glare.

"Megumi-san!" Kaoru came down the stairs, still holding her wooden bokken, but in a non-threatening way, "when did you guys come in?  I thought your letter said that you wouldn't be here until two days from today…"

"Came in at the morning hours from Aizu…we've been waiting for you by your koi pond to get up so we can introduce Kitsune to you.  Yahiko's met her already…ahhh…Megumi, where's Kitsune?"

"Kit-chan?" Megumi turned slightly and a small head full of spiky black hair and bright but inquisitive blue eyes peered from behind her dark bluish-purple kimono.

"Hai okaasan?" Kitsune was extremely shy, Kenji could tell, so he crouched next to Megumi and offered a hand to her.  Within his hand there was a small white origami crane he had built a long time ago but hid it in his pocket.

"Kitsune-chibi, I give this to you," he kept his hand steady as she released her death grip on her mother's kimono and stepped forward tentatively.

"Arigatou…" she mumbled as she took the crane then suddenly jumped as if remembering something.  "Oh," she dug into the pocket of her mini kimono and produced a pouch then turned to his mother.  "Kaoru-san…this is for you.  Take one a day and you will regain energy.  This is to heal you from your current state of health."

"Arigatou gozaimasu, Kitsune-chan.  Arigatou gozaimasu Megumi-san," Kaoru took the pouch and opened it then dumped a few contents out.  They were white looking pills and Kenji scratched his head in puzzlement.

"And that is…"

"They're antibiotic pills from America.  We took a long trip recently and I've studied some American medicine.  These should help you with your symptoms," Megumi replied in a sincere manner.

"Arigatou Megumi-san," Kaoru dumped the pills back in their bag then gestured for them to follow her, "would you like to sit down.  Then you can tell me all about this place called Am-eri-ca…"  "Oh, Kenji?"

"Hai, okaasan?" Kenji glanced at his mother and stood up from his crouching position.

"I'm sure Kitsune-chan would like to play with the other children…why don't you take her to the back where Ayame and Suzume should be taking care of the younger ones.  And I'll need you to get some tofu for tonight.  We have a few more guests who should be arriving this afternoon to celebrate the Summer Festival," Kaoru handed him the tofu bowl and Kenji gawked.

"More?" he managed to squeak out.  He had never expected so many guests to come…and speaking of which, who were they?  Had he ever met them before?

"Hai, hai," Kaoru smiled broadly then gestured to both Megumi and Sano, "we can talk in the main room."

Kenji stared at the retreating forms of his mother's friends, bewildered.  When he woke up today, he had expected a normal day…but now…his mother never even told him.  _Oro…the world has turned upside down.  The Gods must be laughing at my predicament at the moment…_

A tug to his dark green gi brought his attention down to Kitsune's frowning face.  "Kit-chibi?"

"Can I come with you to buy tofu?" she asked, fingering the hem of the bow to her kimono.

"Ano…" he frowned.  It wouldn't hurt for the little kid to see the city, but he didn't really know if he should.  It was safe after all and if there was anyone hassling them, he could defend her with his sakabatou.  "I guess…"

"Yay!  Kenji-niichan the best!" Kitsune looked absolutely cheerful at the prospect that Kenji sighed and raked a hand through his unruly red bangs.  Somehow, he felt as if he had made both the biggest mistake in the world, and make the kid the happiest in the world.

                                    *                      *                      *


	2. Flames of Suspicion: The Akabeko Rescue

Beyond Rurouni Kenshin: The Meiji Era: Arashi no Hitomi (The Eye of the Storm)

By: Shadow Chaser

Started: 7/29/02.  Completed: 

**_Timeline: Meiji Era – 1898 (Meiji 30)_**

**Author's Notes/SPOILER WARNING:**

            This story is based mostly off of the manga version, with slight changes following the Episodes 1-63 of the anime series.  For those who have not read the Revenge Arc/Jinchuu Arc this will feature quite a bit of spoilers.  **Also for those who have not seen the 2nd OAV – Seishou Hen, this will also be featured in here.**  I changed some of the events in the OAV to suit my own purposes in this fic.  Pointer One: I kept Kaoru alive…for many reasons, which will be explained in the fic.  I do not own any of the Rurouni Kenshin characters; they belong to Watsuki Nobuhiro-sama who is the creator and God of Rurouni Kenshin.  Please do not sue for infringement.  This fic has more of the Rurouni Kenshin anime feel (slapstick silliness and seriousness at the same time).

_Chapter 2 – Flames of Suspicion: The Akabeko Rescue_

Kenji held onto Kitsune's hand tightly, not so tight as to cut off the circulation to her hand, but tight enough that he wouldn't loose her in the busy mid-morning crowds.  It seemed as if everyone was getting ready with food, presents or whatever for the Summer Festival.  He politely pushed his way past people, dragging Kitsune along with him, who didn't seem to mind being dragged along and was oohhing and aahhing at the sights and sounds of the mid-morning crowds.

Finally he reached the stall that sold the tofu his mother would be looking for.  Placing the bowl down in front of the owner, "Four rectangles of tofu please…fresh."

"Hai…that would be…" the owner never got to finish as a sudden loud boom went off very close to where they were.

Instinct immediately took over Kenji's senses and he wrapped his arms and hugged Kitsune close to him as wooden shards, filled with glass pieces filled the air, making the crowds scatter, screaming.  He turned and ducked, feeling a few of the shards pound into his back, some of them biting into his skin.  When the dust cleared, he risked a look up and his eyes widened in horror.  Where once the entrance to the Akabeko restaurant stood, there was a gaping hole and fire raged all around the building.  _Tae…Tsubame…Shin-ya…_he realized that Yahiko's family was still in the burning restaurant.

"Kitsune!  Run back to the Dojo!  Tell the others what happened to the Akabeko!" he grabbed the small girl by the shoulders and saw that fear was in her eyes but she nodded numbly.  "Go!"

"H-Hai!" she took off as fast as she could and Kenji watched her leave.  Another crackling of a beam falling brought his attention back to the falling Akabeko.  He hoped Kitsune would be able to get back in time to warn Yahiko, but he had a feeling that Yahiko would already be on his way…

There was a crowd forming and he noted that some of the people were grabbing buckets of water to slosh onto the burning restaurant, but it wasn't enough.  The fire brigade would have to come and put something like this out, or just let the restaurant burn down.  He tried to push his way through the crowd, but saw that they were too thick in numbers.  _That's it…time to do it differently_, he jumped high into the air and past the crowd then landed lightly in the middle of them.

Some of the crowd gasped at his unexpected arrival, but he ignored them and grabbed the nearest person, "Have they evacuated the people?!"

"H-Hai!  But there are still a few left in there!" the man stuttered with fear and Kenji growled in the back of his throat then released the man roughly.  Suddenly, beyond him he spotted Tae Sekihara, the owner of the Akabeko.  She was covered in ash and was coughing violently.

"Tae-san," he came over to her and knelt down next to her, "where are Tsubame and Shin-ya?"

"Kenshin?" was the confused reply of Tae as she blinked soot away from her eyes then they suddenly widened, "Oh!  Kenji!  They're still in there!  Hurry!"

_Kuso_, he cursed silently as he ran past the other men who were trying to stop the fire and paused for a split second before heading into the inferno.  He distantly heard the cries of the men not to go in there, but they were drowned out by the roar of the flames that now surrounded him.  "Tsubame!  Shin-ya!" he yelled as loud as he could, trying to make his voice project over the roar of the flames.  "TSUBAME!!!"

"HERE!!!" he distantly heard Tsubame's reply to his left and carefully made his way in the direction of the call.  He held up one of his arms to shield himself from the licking flames.

"TSUBAME!" he called again.

"Here!" her voice was much closer and he pushed open a falling door to see her clutching her son close to her with what looked to be a wet blanket wrapped around them.  Tsubame looked like she had been burned slightly and some of her hair had been singed off, but her son, Shin-ya didn't look too bad, except for the fact that he was wailing loudly.

"Tsubame-san!" he knelt next to her, ducking to avoid a shard of falling wood that landed next to him.

"Kenji!  Thank the Gods," Tsubame coughed a little, "I…I…"

"Shhh," Kenji hushed the older woman, "tell us later.  Right now we have to get you and Shin-ya out or else Yahiko would have my head."  He helped her up, making sure that she was underneath his arm so that if a falling beam of fire were to drop, he would get hit first and she wouldn't be able to suffer any damage.

He turned and was about to make his way back when suddenly the door that he came through, it's support beams suddenly crumpled…leaving them trapped within a wall of fire.  _We are so…_he bashed the thought away as he narrowed his eyes trying to see if there was any other way to get out.

"Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu, Ryu Sou Sen!" a new voice called out, and the embers were blown away.  Kenji ducked as the flying shards of burning wood flew out in different directions.  When he felt that there were no more, he looked up and grinned.

"You look like you need help," Yahiko said, sheathing his sakabatou and coming over to them.

"Hai," Kenji replied.

                                    *                      *                      *

Yahiko was in the middle of watching a sparring match between his two most advanced students, Iori Arai and Chizuru Raikouji, when the explosion was heard in the distance.  Everyone had stopped and looked in the direction of the main part of the city.  A tendril of smoke from the distance floated up in the air and he felt as if someone had choked the air out of him.  He hoped that the explosion didn't occur at the Akabeko…

"What's going on?" one student asked.

"Explosion?"

"Terrorists?"

"Be quiet," Yahiko hissed at them then glanced at both Iori and Chizuru, both of them in the middle of a fighting stance.  "You two, keep and eye on the younger ones."

"Hai, Myojin-sensei," the two of them replied at the same time and Yahiko walked to the front entrance.

"Yo, Yahiko," Sanosuke's voice spoke behind him and he glanced briefly back before poking his head out of the front entrance to see.

"You know anything about this, Sano?" he asked.

"Nothing," Sano replied.

"I should go help, there will be injured if something happened; Kitsune is there too," Megumi spoke from behind the two of them and they turned around.

"No way, Megumi," Sano shook his head and held up his hands, "not without me.  And I think Kitsune's gonna be fine with Kenji…he would know how to keep her safe."

"I'm going too," Yahiko desperately wanted to know if his family was safe.  Gods help him if the Akabeko was the one that exploded.

"Then who's keeping an eye on Jo-chan?" Sano asked and was about to say more when Yahiko spotted the small figure of Kitsune running towards them, a bit soot covered but otherwise fine and out of breath.

"Kit-chan!" Sano leapt ahead of him and scooped up his daughter in his arms, "Kit-chan, where's Kenji?"

"H-He…told…me…r-run home," Kitsune was taking deep gulps of breaths every time she opened her mouth, "Akabeko…big…boom…"

That was all Yahiko heard as he ran past Sanosuke, his left hand gripping his saya in a stranglehold.  _Not the Akabeko…not Tsubame…Shin-ya…_thoughts of his family ran through his head as he pictured their smiling faces.  _No!  They're not dead!  They can't be! _He tried to squash the images of their charred bodies out of his mind, and instead tried to focus on the lovely and beautiful face of his wife Tsubame…their four-year-old son, Shin-ya.

Yahiko barely noticed the crowd gathering up ahead while the fire brigade had arrived and was trying to douse the flames of the Akabeko.  His feet ran on instinct as he leapt to the rooftops to avoid the crowd and finally leapt in front of the inferno that engulfed the Akabeko.  _No!_

"Sir!  You can't be here!" a fire marshal grabbed his shoulder suddenly, but he shrugged it off violently and steeled himself.

_Tsubame…Shin-ya…_he kept the two names running through his head as he charged into the inferno.  Blinking his watering eyes against the acidic smoke, he tried to look beyond the walls of red-orange flames.  "TSUBAME!" he yelled.

"TSUBAME!" a voice echoed him and Yahiko perked up hearing Kenji's call.

"Here!" was the distant reply, very distant that a normal human wouldn't have heard it, but with Yahiko's training and acute hearing, he followed it.

Yahiko suddenly dived to his left as wooden beams crashed around him.  _Kuso_, he cursed silently as he felt some of the burning embers hit him.  He got up and saw that the door to the kitchen had collapsed.  This was where he heard Tsubame's voice and he figured that Kenji had gone in before him to save Tsubame and Shin-ya.  Which meant that Kenji was trapped on the other side.  "Better hold onto something Kenji-kun," he muttered underneath his breath as he drew his sakabatou.

It was relatively new, but it worked as good as Kenshin's old sakabatou.  "Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu, Ryu Sho Sen!" he charged at the fallen door and blasted it open.  A while ago, when Seijuro Hiko came to visit them, which was pretty rare, Yahiko had demanded that he teach him a few of the basic Hiten Mitsurugi techniques and Hiko actually relented.

"You look like you need help," he sheathed his sakabatou and looked at Kenji then at his wife and son, relief filling his heart as he saw that Tsubame and Shin-ya weren't hurt that much.

"Hai," Kenji replied.

                                    *                      *                      *

Kenji was actually quiet surprised that Yahiko had blasted the door open with one of the techniques of Hiten Mitsurugi, but he didn't bother to ask as Yahiko came over and offered his protection to his wife and son, shielding them like he was doing.  He would have to ask where did Yahiko learn Ryu Sho Sen later…right now, they had to get out of this burning building.

"You know how to get out?" he asked, giving Yahiko a sideways glance.

"Yeah…I think…" Yahiko was much better at directions than he was and frankly with everything on fire, everything looked the same, which added to Kenji's confusion.

They slowly made their way through the inferno, covering their nose and mouth so not to get smoke inhalation, but nothing was protecting their eyes from the watery smoke that was filling the room.  In a matter of minutes, Kenji started to feel very lightheaded and he wanted to rest, but he knew that if he stayed within this inferno, he would be cooked alive while he was unconscious.

"Come on, Tsubame-chan…a little more," Yahiko's voice was a bit muffled by the sleeve of his gi covering his mouth.

"I…know…" Tsubame managed to cough out.

"Look!  Tsubame-chan!" Yahiko pointed ahead of them and Kenji was relieved to see a peek of light coming from walls of fire.  They were almost there…

A sudden wailing from within the flames, not from the small form of Shin-ya, alerted both him and Yahiko.  "Nani?!" he whispered as they continued slowly.

"Sounds like someone is still in there…" Yahiko stated, "sounds like a baby."  Kenji noticed that the grip on his sakabatou was tightened.  "I'm going back," his adoptive brother said and made a move when Kenji shot his hand out, stopping him.

"Get Tsubame-san and Shin-ya-chan out of here.  I'll go back," he said, staring into Yahiko's brown eyes, which were narrowed.

"You've already been in here too long, Kenji," Yahiko argued but Kenji shook his head.

"Your family needs you.  Tend to them…I'll be out quickly," he replied and took off.

"Oi!  You're not Kenshin, you know!" Yahiko's call echoed back to him and Kenji just smiled.

"I know," he whispered mostly to himself as he prepared for another onslaught of heat and flames, "but you're also too old to be risking yourself…"  He followed his heightened sense of hearing to the wailing of a baby and ran into the flames once more.

                                    *                      *                      *

Yahiko gritted his teeth in frustration.  Why did Kenji have to be like Kenshin?  _Damn the stupid baka if he gets himself killed…I should be the one racing into those flames…I am the protector of Tokyo after all…but…_his thoughts sobered as he glanced at his wife who was hunched over by the wet blanket.  _Kenji knew that if I got myself killed, then Tsubame and Shin-ya would be very sad.  Yet…Kenji isn't worried that if he gets himself killed, Kaoru would also be sad…_

Finally they stepped into the sunlight and Yahiko squinted slightly against its harsh glare.  It was then that he noticed a roar around him, not from the flames of the remnants of the Akabeko, but from the crowd and firemen gathered around.  They were cheering him.

"Yahiko!" Megumi's frantic voice alerted him and he looked beyond the crowd to see Megumi pushing her way through the crowd, yelling that she was a trained doctor so that the crowd would let her through.

"Megumi," he greeted then glanced at Tsubame who looked like she was having a hard time breathing.

"Put her down Yahiko," Megumi ordered, crouching next to him and Yahiko obeyed, letting his wife kneel on the dirt ground gently.  "Hmm…smoke inhalation…minor burns…" she ran her eye all over then turned her head, "I need a bucket of fresh water!  Right now!"

"Is she going to be okay?" Yahiko was a bit apprehensive about his wife.

"She's going to fine.  She just needs a few small bandages to keep her minor burns from festering.  She's a smart woman to shield herself and your son from the fire with a wet blanket," Megumi smiled slightly and Yahiko allowed himself to relax slightly.  "By the way, where's Kenji?"

Before Yahiko could even get a word in, a sudden rumble behind them made all of them turn around.  A collective gasp rose in the air as the burning remains of the Akabeko, unable to be saved by the firemen, started to crumple upon each other.  _No!  Kenji's still in there!_  He shook an invisible fist at the Gods, hoping that they would be able to spare Kenji's life and let him get out in time before the whole thing turned into rubble.

Suddenly the burning building teetered for a split second…then fell down, creating a plume of dust and smoke that engulfed the street.  "KENJI!" he shouted into the dust then ducked and covered his eyes as the smoke came barreling towards them.

It was a few minutes later when the smoke cleared that Yahiko was able to look up again.  His jaw dropped a few centimeters as he saw Kenji, crouched in a small ball, one arm looking an angry red the other holding onto something. It was a baby…

"Ano…" Kenji's voice sounded a bit rough and Yahiko figured that the young man inhaled a bit too much of the smoke.  "Whose baby is this?"

"Shima!" a woman suddenly cried out and pushed her way forward, then collapsed next to Kenji.  "Oh Shima!" she took the baby away from Kenji's arm, and Yahiko noticed that tears were in her eyes as she hugged her baby close to her.  "How can I ever thank you, young man?"

"It's okay, ma'am…" Kenji replied then got up, a bit more slowly than usual, Yahiko noted.

"Oi, Kenji?  Daijabou?" he asked, getting up and walking over to his adoptive younger brother.

"I'm okay," Kenji replied, waving his concerns away.  Yahiko narrowed his eyes as Kenji had lied practically in front of his face, just like what Kenshin used to do.  He knew that the young man wasn't okay…and in fact looked like he got more than singed…he got burned on his arms and his face had a slight red-tinge on it.

"Yeah right baka," he threw back at the younger man, "stop acting like you're okay.  You're not, so let's get Megumi to look you over, ne?"

"Aa," Kenji replied, not really listening to him.

Yahiko heaved sigh of frustration and scratched the back of his head.  If Kenji ever got married and had a son, he figured that the whole Himura line would be just as stubborn as Kenshin had been.

                                    *                      *                      *

After they had settled into a shop just across the now smoldering ruins of the Akabeko, with the wounded on tables or just sitting in the various chairs the owner had produced for them.  Kenji was grateful for the fact that there weren't too many who were seriously wounded as most of them were either suffering from smoke inhalation or just minor burns.  A sudden cough built up in his throat and he choked on it slightly.

He had been checked out by Megumi, who cautioned him not to exert himself for the rest of the day for the fact that he had been in the blaze for a long time, breathing in a lot of harmful smoke.  But she had told him that it wasn't permanent and he would be fine within a few days.  He was glad for that, but then a twinge of pain alerted him to the burns on his left arm.  Pulling up the sleeve of his heavily burnt gi, he flexed his fingers, wincing slightly as the pain from the stretched and crisp skin rasped against his bandages.

Megumi had also told him that his hand would take at least two days to heal without scars, meaning he couldn't really grip his saya if he wanted to draw his sakabatou.  Not to mention that he had sunburn like burns over his face and a deep diagonal cut directly underneath his left eye, a present the burning Akabeko decided it should leave him as he was getting the baby out.  _And I'll have to get a new gi…ahhh…and I liked the green one_, he frowned slightly then glanced up as footsteps approached him.

"Tsubame-san?" he looked up into Yahiko's wife's face.

"I've brought you some tea…the store owner said that you should have sake, but I told him that you did not like to drink," Tsubame's voice was a bit tired and weary but as she set the cup down, Kenji grabbed her hand with his uninjured one.

"Arigatou, Tsubame-san," he said to her, "please get some rest.  Yahiko-kun would be worried."

Tsubame just smiled and left him.  Kenji watched her disappear to another room in the store then glanced at his tea sitting next to him.  He reached over and picked it up gently with his right hand and took a sip of it, letting the warm tea run through his body.  He closed his eyes and leaned his head against the wall he was sitting next to.

Who would have wanted to bomb the Akabeko?  Was it something against Yahiko?  Or was it something else to get the attention of the Kenshin-gumi, no, the Kenshin-gumi died the day his father died, it was now just a group of very close friends.  He had heard from the stories his mother, father and Yahiko used to tell to him to get him to sleep…all about the troubles and adventures they had.  The former Kenshin-gumi was notorious for attracting the worst kind of trouble, ranging from mere petty duels, to people who wanted revenge from back in the Meiji Revolution days.

"Oi, Kenji," Yahiko's voice startled him from his light doze, "we're leaving."

"Hai," he got up, a bit painfully, and settled his sakabatou comfortably within his hakama's belt.  Looking at Yahiko, he noticed that the older man had a few bandages here and there and a few of his fingers were covered in bandages.  "Burnt?"

"Like a crispy chicken," Yahiko replied, giving him a faint grin, "should have gotten Sano here.  He's the chicken-head."

_Back at the Kamiya Dojo, Sano suddenly sneezed…startling his daughter._

"Right," Kenji replied then glanced around and saw that most of the patients who have been treated had left already and Megumi was just packing up her medicine that she had hastily packed into a black bag.

"I'm ready, we can leave now," Megumi had finished saying her thank you to the store's owner when suddenly the owner approached them.

"Himura-san," the owner addressed him and Kenji caught a glimpse of a fleeting look on both Megumi and Yahiko's faces before they were replaced with masks of impassivity.  "Here are the four rectangles of tofu you have asked."

"Ah, arigatou," Kenji took the tofu bowl and bowed slightly, "how much would that-"

"No cost, Himura-san," the store owner waved his hands, "not after what you did to save those in the Akabeko.  This is my thank-you gift to you."

"Uh…" Kenji was at a sudden loss for words then bowed deeply, "arigatou gozaimasu."

"Let's go," Yahiko called again and Kenji bowed once more before following his friends out.

As they walked the streets back to the Kamiya Dojo, Kenji noted that both Yahiko and Megumi were very silent, Yahiko especially since he was at least a bit talkative.  But he realized that the older man was probably thinking of the past events and also wondering who would destroy the Akabeko…

As soon as they reached the front gate, small figure ran to them until Kitsune's spiky black hair could be seen.  "Okaasan!" Kitsune yelled and Megumi stooped down to catch her little girl in a hug.

She walked in followed by Tsubame holding a sleeping Shin-ya.  By the entrance to the main building of the dojo, Kenji could see his mother sitting next to Sanosuke, a relieved expression on her face.

"Oi, Kenji, you should really stop spacing out," Yahiko tapped him on the back, carefully avoiding the little nicks of cuts that he had sustained when the Akabeko first exploded.

"I'm not spacing out," he replied, and walked in, before giving a small punch to Yahiko's shoulder.

"Yes you are," a brief flash of pain shot through his left arm as Yahiko returned the punch.

Kenji narrowed his eyes and gave Yahiko a wiry grin, "You wanna take that bet?"

"Sure."

"All right…I challenge you, Yahiko Myojin, protector of Tokyo and master of the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu to a duel, this afternoon!" Kenji felt elated as he hoped Yahiko would accept his challenge.

"Not accepted," Yahiko's plain and simple statement brought him to halt in the middle of his trek to the main building the dojo.  He stared at Yahiko with an open mouth.

"Nani?!"

"You're injured, so no way you can draw your sakabatou," Yahiko had the oddest grin that made him look like fox, "besides…Megumi would have my head…"

"You're spending way too much time with the Fox," Kenji muttered underneath his breath as he somehow saw fox ears appear on Yahiko's head then disappear with a flash.

"Besides," Yahiko didn't really hear him; "I'll toss you onto the roof so you can't get down, eh Kenji-kun?"

Kenji immediately felt a wave of fear roll through him, but it was gone as he realized that Yahiko was taunting him and annoyance filled him.  Just what was his brother getting at?  He knew that Yahiko knew he hated roofs.  Of course he loved climbing them…just getting down from them was a slight problem for him…

"While you're off worrying about that, I'll be training my students," Yahiko gave him another grin then left him standing in the middle of walkway.

Kenji stared at him then closed his eyes and shook his head.  He felt like throwing his hands up in the air in exasperation when he realized that he was still holding the tofu bowl that he still had to give to his mother.  "Okaasan," he called to his mother while walking up to her, "I've brought the tofu."

                                    *                      *                      *


	3. Out on Impulse: Invitations to the Summe...

Beyond Rurouni Kenshin: The Meiji Era: Arashi no Hitomi (The Eye of the Storm)

By: Shadow Chaser

Started: 7/29/02.  Completed: 

**_Timeline: Meiji Era – 1898 (Meiji 30)_**

**Author's Notes/SPOILER WARNING:**

            This story is based mostly off of the manga version, with slight changes following the Episodes 1-63 of the anime series.  For those who have not read the Revenge Arc/Jinchuu Arc this will feature quite a bit of spoilers.  **Also for those who have not seen the 2nd OAV – Seishou Hen, this will also be featured in here.**  I changed some of the events in the OAV to suit my own purposes in this fic.  Pointer One: I kept Kaoru alive…for many reasons, which will be explained in the fic.  I do not own any of the Rurouni Kenshin characters; they belong to Watsuki Nobuhiro-sama who is the creator and God of Rurouni Kenshin.  Please do not sue for infringement.  This fic has more of the Rurouni Kenshin anime feel (slapstick silliness and seriousness at the same time).__

_Chapter 3 – Out on Impulse: Invitations to the Summer Festival_

After what seemed to be an hour of grueling talk from his mother about his safety and her worried state, Kenji finally got the chance to retire into his bedroom to change into a fresh new outfit.  He peeled off the burnt gi and hakama and took out his other only pair of fresh clothes.  It was a white hakama like his other one, but his gi was that of a black color.  He wished that he had another color; maybe a lighter color as he knew the black would soak up a lot of heat from the sun, especially since it was summer.

As he began to put on his fresh clothes, Kenji glanced around his room, full of little trinkets and things that he had gotten from working at a shop that sold foreign types of things.  A stack of books lay near his futon, books that contained knowledge he didn't even know could exist, things like bombs, gunpowder, religion, and a new thing called science.

He had read all of them, but they made little sense.  The foreign concept of religion was extremely confusing.  How could a group of people worship just one God, one God that created everything?  That notion was very silly indeed, but he found it fascinating nonetheless.  He loved to read and it was the history books that kept him entertained at night when there wasn't anything to do.

He knew that his mother would be proud of him reading so much, but he didn't dare speak a word about his books.  They just didn't seem 'right' at times, so he rarely mentioned them.  When he did talk about what he read in the books, it was only to the shop owner he worked for, a man by the name of Katsuhiro Tsukioka.  The two of them usually talked when no customers were flitting by their store, talked about western influence and whatnot.  Kenji had found out that Katsuhiro was totally against the Meiji government, but really liked the foreign influence but that was about it as Katsu, as he liked to be called, didn't talk much about his past or of anything else.

He let out a small sigh as he tied the last knot to his belt and picked up his sakabatou with his left hand, wincing slightly as his bandaged hand came in contact with the saya.  Though he had felt some pain before, when he was training with his Shisho, getting burned was complete new for him and he didn't like it.

Tucking his sakabatou in his belt he slid open the door…to face his mother…

"Uh…" Kenji's mood fell slightly as he saw that his mother had a neutral look to her face.

"Let me see you hand, please," Kaoru said in a emotionless voice and Kenji lifted his undamaged hand when she shook her head, "the other one, please."

Holding his bandaged hand before her, he wondered why did she want to see it.  "Hmm…" Kaoru looked thoughtful as she briefly examined it then let it go, "Arigatou Kenji, for yelling at you.  I…was worried."

Kenji smiled at her then hugged her small form, his chin resting on the top of her head, "Its okay, okaasan.  I know you were worried and I'm sorry I made you worried."  He released her and she smiled tiredly, like she had aged quite a bit in a matter of a few seconds.

"Try not to get injured anymore, okay Kenji?" her smiled brightened and she reached behind him to ruffle his hair to which he cried out and tried to duck.  He hated when she ruffled his hair, it made him feel like a very small boy.

"Okaasan!" he cried out indignantly as she laughed lightly the handed him two poles.

"We'll need a few fishes for tonight.  See if you can possibly catch some, okay?" Kaoru stepped back, "bring Yahiko with you…it's time to get that boy to do some work around here instead of teaching the other students."

"Hai okaasan," Kenji brushed past his mother and headed outside where he saw Yahiko saying the last of the goodbyes to the students who were leaving.  The sun was already past the noontime mark and it was the early afternoon.  "Yahiko!" he called to his brother who looked up and then frowned as he saw what was in his hands.

"No way…" Yahiko started to make a beeline to where his wife was playing with their four-year-old son when Kaoru's voice stopped him.

"You've been teaching all day, Yahiko, go do some chores.  It's not like I let you stay here for free at times…" Kaoru walked back into the house and Kenji grinned slightly as a tired expression crossed the older man's face.

"Ahh…after twenty years she still treats me like a kid," Yahiko grumbled as he walked past Kenji, grabbing the two poles and trudging out of the front gate.

Kenji followed him and was about to run to catch up to him when a small hand rested on his shoulder.  "Oro?" he glanced behind him to see Chizuru, waiting for him by the entrance.

"Ano…um…Kenji-chan…" Chizuru seemed a bit flustered about something as she looked to the ground and picked at the hem of her hakama, which she didn't change out of after practice.

"What is it?" he asked, wondering why she was so flustered, "something wrong?"

"Nothing…" Chizuru still picked at a hem, "but…I was wondering…umm…" She mumbled something that Kenji didn't quite catch and he looked at her with a puzzled expression.

"Chi-chan, you're not making sense.  What did you say?" he asked her again.

"Ano…nothing," Chizuru shook her head and started to walk away when Kenji placed a hand on her shoulder, stopping her.

"Chi-chan, why don't you stay for dinner tonight in celebration of the Summer Festival?" he asked and suddenly regretted his words.  He didn't know why he said them and was afraid that Chizuru, however much she was a friend to him, would throttle him up the wall for saying something so impulsive as that.

But instead she turned around and Kenji saw that a faint pink tinge was on her cheeks and a timid smile on her lips.  She did look a bit cuter this way; a part of his brain decided and he tried to squash that part down.  "Okay…I guess my family wouldn't mind…"

"Kenji!" Yahiko's irritated voice called from a bit a ways down the road and Kenji looked up to see the older man waving the poles in his hand, "you can ask her out on a date later!"

He immediately felt a flush of heat rise up to his face and it didn't help matters that Chizuru found it extremely funny and was laughing her head off.  "Ahh…don't make it worst Chi-chan," he growled at her, "why don't you tell okaasan that you're staying for dinner."

"Hai, Kenji-chan," Chizuru teased, still laughing and Kenji shook his head in exasperation as he rushed to catch up to Yahiko.

                                    *                      *                      *

"So," Yahiko asked as they settled down by the riverbank with their poles, "do you like her?"

"Oro?"

"Ack…Kenji, you know…Chizuru…do you like her?"

Kenji blushed slightly at Yahiko's comment.  Of course he liked her…  "Yeah, I like her.  Real good friend-"

"That's not what I meant," Yahiko cut him off and gave him a grin.  "I mean, do you really like her.  You know…like her like a girlfriend or something."

"Or something?"

"Yeah, or something."

"Oro…I don't really know what you mean…"

"Kenji no baka," Yahiko sighed in frustration, "you are sure pretty brainless when it comes to women…just like a few people I know."

"I heard from okaasan that you were also pretty brainless about Tsubame-san when you first met her…" Kenji gave Yahiko a good poke with the end of his rod.

"Hey!  Stop trying to change the subject here!" Yahiko retaliated with his own poke and Kenji grinned.  He loved irritating his adoptive brother.  "Well…do you really like her?" Yahiko asked once more when they had calmed down and resumed letting their fishing poles glide through the rippling water.

Kenji shifted slightly.  He didn't really know if he really liked Chizuru…she did seem to be a nice girl, coming from a wealthy family and all.  Plus she was a good friend to him; besides Iori whom they had all had their share of jokes together…  Did he really like Chizuru as a friend or was it something more…  "I…don't know…" he hesitantly replied.

"Ah!" Yahiko suddenly looked like he swallowed the proverbial canary, "you do like her."

"No…I don't!" he protested, narrowing his light purple eyes at him.

"So then why invite her to dinner?" Yahiko grin became even wider, like it stretched from one side of his face to the other.

Kenji was about to answer when a sudden cough racked his body and he choked slightly, bending over to cover his mouth with his bandaged hand.  The cough subsided and he shook his head slightly, feeling a small headache grow within his head.

"Oi, Kenji, daijabou?" Yahiko's voice lost all humor and was filled with concern.

"Fine, fine…hate this smoke inhalation cough," he cleared his throat then waved off Yahiko's concerns, "don't worry…it's not like I'm getting TB or something."

"Hnn," Yahiko looked a bit worried but let it go.

"You know who could have destroyed the Akabeko?" Kenji suddenly asked, glancing at his bandaged hand and flexed it slightly, feeling the sudden jolt of pain shooting through his arm.

"No," Yahiko admitted after a few minutes of silence save for the occasional passerby on the bridge over the river hurrying to somewhere, "but I get the feeling that it wasn't accidental."

"Me too…" Kenji frowned as he tugged the line slightly, "but I wouldn't really know…  You and the rest of the family know of otousan's many rivalries and hatreds that were directed at him.  I don't even know…"

"Yeah…could be a possibility with a former rival of Kenshin's that bombed the Akabeko.  But the whole thing just seems too familiar," Yahiko's eyes looked thoughtful for a few minutes.

"Too familiar?  You mean the Akabeko had been bombed before?" Kenji's eyes widened.  This was one story he had never heard about and judging by how fast Yahiko's eyes blazed, it was probably a very interesting story indeed.

"Yeah," Yahiko's voice was now very rough and kind of strained, "but nothing you need to know.  It was just something of a while back…"

"A while back?" Kenji asked and was about to say more when his brother gave him a glare to tell him to drop the subject.  He obligingly did, not wanting to push it any further and turned back to his fishing pole, which bobbled slightly…suddenly it plunked into the water and Kenji felt a tug on his pole.  "Ah!  I got one!" he cried out, trying to pull the pole towards him.

"Come on!  Pull, you should have all that strength from Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu!" Yahiko cheered him on and Kenji gave an extra yank when suddenly the line went flying out of the water, and attached to it was a beautiful flash of scales…a good size fish.

Setting his pole down he watched as the fish flopped slightly then calmed down as it died from the lack of water-enriched oxygen.  "Sugoi…okaasan would really like that…" he breathed as he unhooked the line from the fish's mouth and then tossed it back into the river.

"Yeah," Yahiko agreed then settled back down and bobbed his line a bit.

"So…how are the students?" Kenji asked after a few minutes of awkward silence.

"Fine…Iori, though he started late, is progressing in a good manner.  One thing that still shocks me, is the fact that his father, Seiku, no matter how the pacifist he is, wanted his son to train in kenjutsu," Yahiko barked out a laugh.

"At least it isn't the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu," Kenji said in a quiet voice, "at least it's the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu…"

He remembered that when he was younger, he was to be taught the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu and even gotten started when he first saw his father fend off an opponent that had threatened to destroy the Dojo.  He was only eight-years-old then, but he saw how his father had defeated his opponent with such fluid and graceful movement…only to collapse in a fit of agony after the battle was won.

He had felt a rage of anger then, at how come his father was so weak to fall over, and why his mother cared for his father.  Though he still didn't know to this day, he partially knew the truth…his mother deeply loved his father and was worried for him constantly, between the gentle Rurouni side and the Hitokiri Battousai side of him.  Kenji didn't know the whole story behind the fact of his father being the Battousai then suddenly turning into a Rurouni, but he knew that his father had been a powerful swordsman during the Meiji Revolution.

It was then, seeing his father in agony and recovering that Kenji decided he was going to learn the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu to try to understand why his mother was so devoted to his father and to mostly understand him…

He remembered asking his father, as it was very hard for him not to look at him with disdain and distaste, asking him to teach him Hiten Mitsurugi.  He was shocked that his father refused to teach him and left in a fit of anger.  During the stories he had been told over the years while he was growing up, he heard of his father's master, Seijuro Hiko and went to Kyoto to find out if this Hiko still lived.  And that was when he began his training with the 13th Master of Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu.

A sudden sharp poke with the fishing rod made Kenji jump back into reality.  He glanced at Yahiko to see him doubling over with laughter.  "Quit it."

"No way, Kenji!  You really should stop spacing out…" Yahiko snickered mostly to himself then suddenly yelped as his pole flew out of his hands.  But within a blur, the pole was back in his hands and Kenji watched as Yahiko pulled hard, making another good sized fish come their way…no…to his way…to…

"Ahhh!" Kenji ducked to avoid the fish that was flying towards his head.  "Kuso, Yahiko!  What the hell were you trying to do?  Take my head off with a fish?"

Yahiko finally unhooked the squirming fish and looked at him to give him a devilish grin, "I call it the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu, Sakana Kogekisuru (Fish Attack)."

"There's no such thing as the Sakana Kogeikisuru you baka!" Kenji yelled at him, "okaasan told me all the techniques of the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu and…ohhh…"  He shut up as Yahiko rolled along the ground, furtively acting like a ten-year-old kid, laughing his head off.  "Hmph," he snorted silently as he turned back around and jiggled his fish pole slightly, trying to ignore his brother who at the moment, looked like a fool.

                                    *                      *                      *

At least two hours later, and four good-sized fishes in their hooks, they headed back to the Dojo, the two of them trading jabs and good-natured pokes with each other.  If anyone saw them on the road, they would have thought the two to be either the very best of friends or brothers.

As they entered the entrance to the Dojo, Kenji noticed that everything was quiet…too quiet.  No one was outside doing anything…

"Ano…what happened?" he wondered out loud.

"Let's go in," Yahiko's voice had a slight tinge of warning on it and they headed into the main entrance cautiously…

"YAHIKO!!!  KENJI!!!" a bright, maybe too bright, voice greeted them and Kenji nearly dropped his fishing pole along with the two fishes he had caught as a blur of blue-pink ran up to him and hugged him tightly.

"Oroooo…" he managed to squeak out as he felt like this person, whomever it was, was squeezing him to death.

When he was finally let go, Kenji wheezed slightly and then let out a slight cough from the lack of air and from the injuries he had received from the burning Akabeko.  It was also then that he felt numerous new aches brought on by the hug, but brushed it aside as he took a good look at the person who hugged him so tightly.

She was not much taller than his mother, and wore a pretty kimono of a dark blue that really brought out her eyes.  Shot through it was pink sakura blossoms decorated with a bright pink bow behind her.  Her hair flowed out in a long braid, and she didn't really look too familiar to him.  Who was this woman?

It was also then that he noticed that everyone was sitting around a long table, tea and little snacks served out before them.  Recognizing everyone except for three…two of whom were extremely cute kids, Kenji focused on the other adult that sat next to the kids.  By his slender but powerful frame, he could tell that this person was someone not to mess with.  Especially with short dark blue hair that fell over his eyes and the way his mouth didn't seem to smile a lot.  But his eyes were gentle, as if someone had given them life again.  Kenji could have well imagined that those ice blue eyes were haunted once before…wait…where did he get that sentiment?

"Misao!  Weasel girl!" Yahiko called out a greeting to the woman who suddenly had a dangerous look on her face.

"Don't call me weasel girl, Yahiko-_chan_…" she emphasized the '-chan' part and Kenji just stared at them.

"Oro…" he whispered not really sure what to do when the woman, who completely acted like another ten-year-old hyper kid, in his humble opinion, popped up in front of him, smiling.

"Kenji-chan!  Don't you remember me?" the woman asked and Kenji suppressed a grimace.  _This_ was one of his mother's friends…dear Gods; the world _did _come to an end…

"Uh…not really…can't say I do…" he scratched the back of his head with his bandaged arm, trying hard not to scuttle out of the room and run screaming down the streets of Tokyo.

"Aww," the woman looked a bit disappointed, "well…my name is Misao Shinomori." She paused for a minute to see if he had any reaction but the name sounded vaguely familiar but Kenji didn't really recall the name.  But the last name of Shinomori…

It suddenly hit him as he realized that he had seen the two before…a bit younger, but nonetheless he had seen them before.  "Ah!  Misao-san, Aoshi-san," he bowed slightly in respect, "gomen nasai, I didn't recognize you before…"

"Ah ha!  I knew that somewhere in his red-head that he would be able to remember us, isn't that right, Kenji-chan!"

"Uh…" he wanted to tell Misao to stop call him Kenji-chan but he knew that it wasn't polite to contradict an elder, especially with the prospect that Misao probably didn't listen to anyone except for her husband.

He had only met Misao and Aoshi Shinomori at least once or twice, the earliest he could remember is when he was very young, maybe the age of two or three, his family invited everyone who was a part of the Kenshin-gumi to come and watch the cherry blossoms.  Back then, Misao hadn't married Aoshi yet, but was in the process of 'dating' him, if you could call it that…  Aoshi's eyes were still hard and cold at times, but they were beginning to warm up and he remembered just freezing up whenever Shinomori's eyes raked over him.

But now…those eyes didn't seem as cold as before.  It seemed that with the advent of fatherhood for Aoshi Shinomori, he had finally lost those cold eyes.

                                    *                      *                      *


	4. Musings: The Summer Festival

Beyond Rurouni Kenshin: The Meiji Era: Arashi no Hitomi (The Eye of the Storm)

By: Shadow Chaser

Started: 7/29/02.  Completed: 

**_Timeline: Meiji Era – 1898 (Meiji 30)_**

**Author's Notes/SPOILER WARNING:**

            This story is based mostly off of the manga version, with slight changes following the Episodes 1-63 of the anime series.  For those who have not read the Revenge Arc/Jinchuu Arc this will feature quite a bit of spoilers.  **Also for those who have not seen the 2nd OAV – Seishou Hen, this will also be featured in here.**  I changed some of the events in the OAV to suit my own purposes in this fic.  Pointer One: I kept Kaoru alive…for many reasons, which will be explained in the fic.  I do not own any of the Rurouni Kenshin characters; they belong to Watsuki Nobuhiro-sama who is the creator and God of Rurouni Kenshin.  Please do not sue for infringement.  This fic has more of the Rurouni Kenshin anime feel (slapstick silliness and seriousness at the same time).__

_Chapter 4 – Musings: The Summer Festival_

After sitting in the main room for at least an hour, with Kenji's legs cramping up from sitting so straight up, Kaoru suggested that they relax outside, something that he had whole-heartedly agreed to, but realized that he was still wearing his black gi…which meant he had to stay in the shade or else he would be a fried Kenji.

Chizuru had left the Dojo for a while and came back holding a wrapped package, but didn't tell anyone what it was as she slipped into the main building and stayed there.  He considered going in after her, but realized that he didn't want to move from his comfortable perch on a branch of sakura tree that was in their yard.  Let one leg hang off the branch he watched as below, the children, Kitsune, the two Shinomori children, Rin who was ten, Ana who was six, and little Shin-ya play together.  Though Rin Shinomori seemed more interested in the mock sparring both Yahiko and Iori were practicing a little ways beyond the tree.

It seemed that neither Kitsune nor Ana seemed to like each other and in fact were snipping at each other.  One girl calling the other names, the other threatening to spear the other with what looked to be little daggers.  He figured that he should stop them before anyone got hurt, but they looked so cute with angry faces.

His mother and just about all the other women who were staying for the dinner, was in the kitchen, cooking up the dinner.  Tae Sekihara had arrived sometime between when they were sitting in the main room and retiring outside, bringing an armful of vegetables.  She had said a quick hello to them before dashing into the kitchen to help the other women.  "So that means that Ayame-san, Suzume-san, okaasan, Misao-san, Tsubame-san, Megumi-san, and Tae-san are all in the kitchen…oro…I hope they don't get on each others nerves…" he muttered mostly to himself.  He wondered if Chizuru was helping too…

"Kenji-niisan!  Come and play!" Kitsune's plaintive voice startled him and he glanced down to see the small spiky-haired child with a frown on her face, her hands on her hips, staring at him.

"Oro?"

"Kenji-niisan," another whine was plaintive and this time, little Ana Shinomori, a pretty girl with long blue-black hair that hung in layers was staring at him, the same expression on her as it was on Kitsune's face.

"Hai, hai," he sighed softly.  He knew when he was beat when children wanted to play with him.  If he ignored them then they would surely cry; yet he didn't really feel like playing with them.  "Okay," he frowned slightly then perked up, "what do you want to do?"

"Climb tree!" the two children answered and spurred by their answer, two more heads appeared, both Rin and Shin-ya, Rin loosing interest in the sparring match as he heard that they were going to climb trees.

"Ano…" Kenji didn't know if it was okay for the children to climb the sakura tree, but glanced up at the branches.  They were sturdy and entwined enough to keep the children safe and he figured that he keep them all near the ground so as not to risk a fall from any of the children, little Shin-ya especially.  "I guess you can…but, you have to stay close to me, okay?"

"Hai!" the four of them replied, little Shin-ya gurgling his assent.

"Hmm…Kit-chan, Ana-chan, you'll need to be careful of your kimonos…I don't want your mothers to be mad at me for your dirtied kimonos," he frowned at both Ana and Kitsune.

"Hai, don't worry Kenji-niisan, we won't get them dirty," the both replied at the same time.

Kenji was doubtful of their answer and made himself promise that he would be keeping a sharp eye on where the two children moved.  "All right, Rin, can you climb trees?"

"Hai!" Rin replied, raking a hand through his short cropped black hair and started to climb the tree.

"Okay, I'm going to pick you up, Kit-chan," he jumped to the ground and hoisted the small girl up, setting her up on a branch that was close to the trunk.  "You too Ana-chan," he also picked the other girl up and set her a bit away from Kitsune in case they started to bicker.

"Pick up!  Pick up!" Shin-ya called from his sitting position and Kenji smiled slightly then picked him up and held him by one hand on his back.  He pulled himself up to a fairly low branch and then glanced around at the children who all were happy that they were in the tree.

"Now what?" he asked them.

"We play ninja!" Rin declared.

"No!" was the fast response from Kitsune, "we play doctor!"

"Ninja!" Ana shouted back at Kitsune, quick to defend her older brother.

"Maa maa, minna," Kenji tried to calm everyone down, "we can play both ninja and doctor in the tree.  Rin and Ana can be the ninja and Kitsune can be the doctor that takes care of them if they get injured, okay?"

"I'm not treating that tanuki!" Kitsune sniffed and Kenji felt like bashing his head against something.  He knew that it was a bad idea to put the two of them together…

"Fine then!  Who cares about you!  I won't stand to protect you when the bad guys come and attack!" Ana replied then turned around and started to fiddle with her miniature daggers.

"Oro…"

                                    *                      *                      *

They continued their mock playing, Kenji letting little Kitsune check out his bandaged hand as she poked gently, giving her assessment.  He figured that she was going to be like her mother when she grew up, but her temperament was just like her father, hotheaded and impulsive.

Meanwhile, both Rin and Ana were pretending that they were on a mission and scaled across the branches, making the tree their headquarters.  Once or twice, they leapt from the tree, a safe distance to the ground and ran around the yard, pretending that they were sneaking around.  Kenji noticed that both Aoshi and Sanosuke, sitting by the porch were watching them and quietly talking with each other…except for a time where Sano suddenly burst out vehemently then quieted down.

He didn't know what the two men were talking about, but had a vague feeling that it was something to do with the children.  Every time the two siblings leapt from their tree and came back, Kenji had to carry Ana back up to a branch and she seemed to like it every time.  He had a suspicious feeling that Ana had developed an attachment to him…much like Kitsune had too.

Iori came over after an exhausting practice and barely climbed the first two branches of the tree before collapsing against it, letting his shinai drop to the ground as he leaned back against a curving branch.  It was also then that Yahiko came to get his son and Kenji was grateful to have Shin-ya off of his arm as it had fallen asleep a long time ago from carrying the four-year-old's heavy weight.

"Ahh…" Iori smiled slightly, letting the cool summer breeze ruffle his short dark brown hair, "so…what's new Kenji-kun?"

"Nothing," Kenji shrugged then gave his best friend an apprising look, "you look like-"

"Ah, no swearing Kenji," Iori warned, opening his eyes and grinning at him, "there are little kids around."

Rin had climbed a bit higher, but not too high to endanger himself and was pretending to communicate to the other ninjas they so called had around the whole dojo.  Kitsune had busied herself by picking some of the sakura blossoms that had not fallen yet and was examining them, making her own remarks on their properties of medicine.  Ana was sharpening her daggers, why did Misao or Aoshi let their youngest daughter wield those dangerous things anyhow, while casting a glare at Kitsune.

"I know…but you still do look like you know what," Kenji shook his head, "but I guess you're improving…"

"Guess?  Of course I'm improving…" Iori chuckled, "you're not trying to get me into a match are you, Kenji?"

"Who me?" he asked innocently.

"You know that you've always been beaten by Yahiko-sensei every time you fought him.  Looks like the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu isn't working," though Iori was older than he was by at least three years, he still acted a bit younger than he was, yet his mind-set was wiser…maybe an offshoot that he was partially a pacifist.

"It does work!" Kenji cried out indignantly, "I just…don't know what happened…"

"Yeah, sure, whatever," Iori waved him off and Kenji frowned.

"Oh shut up," he folded his arms and pouted slightly.

"So, how's the arm?" his friend asked him, pointing to the bandaged one.

"Fine…hurts from time to time.  I never got burned before so this is completely new," he shrugged.

"You know that underneath the bandage it's going to leave a scar, right?" Iori pointed to the white gauze that had covered where he had gotten a deep cut underneath his left eye.

"Yeah…but I don't really mind," he brushed his bandaged scar for a minute, feeling a flash of pain before it subsided.  Did he really mind the scar…or…was it something else that somehow got him totally staring in to space.

"DINNER!" Chizuru's voice suddenly bellowed from the front porch, startling Sano who jumped slightly.

Kenji and Iori laughed at the funny scene, watching as Chizuru, smiled sweetly down at Sano and apologized then walked back in with Sano still rubbing his ear.

"Dinner!  Dinner!" the three children in the tree suddenly perked up and Rin and Ana leapt from the tree and landed to the ground then took off running.  Ana caught up with her father and attached herself to his right leg.

"Kenji-chan, can you help me get down?" Kitsune looked a bit stuck and Kenji hopped out of the tree before lifting Kitsune down.  She promptly gave him a hasty thank-you before running to her father and demanded to be picked up in a hug.

There was a rustle of leaves and then Iori landed with a soft thump behind him.  "Come on Kenji, let's go.  I'm starving!"  He ran ahead of him and Kenji followed at a slower pace.

Suddenly he stopped and turned around, looking at the sakura tree, "Whoever you are…come out now."

There was no reply from the tree, when suddenly something flashed by Kenji and buried itself on the ground next to his foot.  He sensed that whoever was in the tree had left and knelt down on the ground and picked up a small shuriken, a folded note attached to it.  Opening it up, he scanned its contents and frowned.

_Kenji Himura,_

_We've been watching you for a long time.  It is time for you to meet us.  Remember the Akabeko?  I was the one that did this…  Please meet me at the fishing river tomorrow at the time where you caught your fishes._

The letter had no signature, but Kenji was suspicious.  He took both the shuriken and letter and placed it inside a pocket on the inner fold of his gi and went inside.  If this person was the one who bombed the Akabeko, then he would have to meet him.  But, as he sat down next to his mother for dinner, why didn't this person contact Yahiko or issue a challenge to him?  Why him?  What did he have to do with it?

                                    *                      *                      *

After a wonderful dinner, which was slightly crowded around the table with the advent of so many guests, the evening was starting to fall and everyone retreated to the outdoors to wait for the fireworks that were supposed to be set off in celebration of the three days of the Summer Festival.  Kenji had kept quiet about the shuriken and letter and now sat on the roof of the Dojo, unconsciously playing with the shuriken that had been thrown to the ground next to him.  His sakabatou lay next to him, his left hand resting on top of it.

The view was certainly breathtaking from the top of the Dojo, as he could see the nightlife of everything around Tokyo.  The glittering oil lamps that surrounded the streets provided a colorful myriad of colors to the other shops that were open late.  Though many people were worried about what had happened in the morning, it seemed that they tried to not let it faze them at all…which was a good thing, in Kenji opinion.

He let out a soft sigh and then glanced up at the clear night sky, the stars twinkling in the far distance.  He had read the science books about the stars and had learned that they weren't just Gods up in the sky, but they were balls of hot gases and light, each one of them millions of miles away.  It was something very hard to believe, but now that he looked at the stars, the research the foreigners had done seemed to make some sense.

"Kenji-chan?" Chizuru's voice was soft as there was scrambling of tiles behind him and he turned slightly to see her in a pretty green kimono, the artful white sakura blossoms decorated throughout.

"Chi-chan," he greeted as she sat down next to him, letting her feet stretch out to his ankle length.  He quickly hid the shuriken in the folds of his gi and noticed that she had a wrapped package in her hands…the same package she had been carrying into the Dojo in the afternoon.  "What is that?" he asked, pointing to the package.

"For you, Kenji," she handed him the package and he stared at it then stared at her.

"Uh…" he started before she shushed him up.

"Just open it baka," she laughed lightly at his confused expression.

_Okay…_he thought to himself as he took off the wrapping then held up the present.  It was a new gi, his favorite green color too.  "Sugoi…" he breathed as he put the gi down and saw that she had also gotten him another white hakama, a complete outfit to say the least.

"I knew you liked green and dark blue, so I brought you two gi and one hakama," she giggled and beneath the hakama was another dark blue gi and his eyes widened as he looked wildly at Chizuru.

"No way…I mean…I can't accept this…this must have cost you-"

"I saw what happened to your gi this morning.  So…think of this as a replacement for it…and a thank you for inviting me to dinner," she smiled at him and he felt his breath catch in his throat.

She looked so beautiful with the half-moon shining on her face…like an angel…  He felt like kissing her, but…something made him stop and instead he pulled her closer to him, letting her rest her head on his shoulder.

"Arigatou goziamasu Chizuru," he whispered to her just as the fireworks started.

                                    *                      *                      *

Sanosuke watched the whole scene between Kenji and Chizuru from his place at the stairs of the main building.  He cheered silently as the two of them looked at each other and was hoping that they kiss when instead Kenji pulled her closer.  _Ah!  Kenji no baka!  You're supposed to kiss her dammit! _He mentally yelled at the boy, shaking a mental fist at him.

Megumi must have noticed his expression as she placed a calming hand on his shoulder, "Sano…let them be…"

"But, but…" Sano spluttered as he turned to face his wife, the fireworks lighting her face into different shades, "the kid should know…"

"Sanosuke, leave them alone," Megumi said again and Sano sighed, pulling his wife closer to him.

"All right, all right," he agreed reluctantly, "but before we head back to Aizu, I'm giving the kid some pointers."

"Oh?" Megumi arched an eyebrow and Sano could swear that he saw her fox ears pop up, "and what pointers would those be?"

"Eh…" he was hesitant to tell his wife who those pointers would be as she would probably end up throttling him to the moon…or perform an operation on him without his consent.  "You know…pointers like…making the first move?"

"Making the first move?" Megumi's voice was rising higher with each word, "my…I wonder what that could be…"

"Oh…Foxy…quit it…" he managed to get out as he stared at his wife like she was a rabid wolf or something.

"Quit what?" her voice had gone low and she leaned against his chest, one finger tracing his bearded jaw line.

Sano grinned and happily obliged his wife with a deep, lingering kiss.  "I'm not quitting anything…" he said in between the kisses.

"Okaasan!  Okaasan!" Kitsune bounded straight into Sano, interrupting their private moment.  Sano tried to repress a heavy sigh and was half successful, but shut up as soon as Megumi gave him a warning glare not to get frustrated.

"What is it, Kit-chan?" Megumi asked, ruffling her daughter's spiky hair.

"Lookie at fireworks!" Kitsune pointed up to the sky, which was full of colors and small booms as the fireworks showed their color then a small boom, followed afterwards.

"Yes, I know…they're very pretty, Kit-chan," Megumi replied and Sano smiled at his daughter then glanced behind him to see Tae talking with Kaoru.

He half expected Kenshin to be next to her when he shook his head and remembered that Kenshin had died three years ago.  It was still hard for him to think that his best friend was dead…and realized that it was probably even harder for Kaoru to accept the fact.  Especially since Kenshin always sat next to her during each year's Summer Festival.  The first Summer Festival that Kenshin had not been at Kaoru's side was the year that he had come home from the Sino-Japanese War…and it was also the day that the festival was to start…  He remembered that he had taken a short trip to China to meet with the friends he had made there, and saw Kenshin, staring out at the sun, unmoving, and no memory.  He had tried to heal his best friend for the trip home…and now…  Sano shook his head, wiping those terrible and sad memories away.

He decided to see if Kaoru was all right as she seemed to be a cheerful mood throughout the day, but some of the cheer had been slightly forced, he could tell.  Glancing to see that his wife was occupied with Kitsune by telling her about the different fireworks, he got up and walked quietly over to where the two women sat.  Tae saw him approaching and nodded then quietly got up and walked to where Megumi was sitting.

Taking the seat the Tae had left for him, Sano sat down next to Kaoru and stared at the sky for a few minutes, not really knowing what to say.

"I'm all right, if you wanted to ask, Sanosuke," Kaoru suddenly spoke in a quiet voice.  "I do miss Kenshin…but…I know that he has moved on to a better life…"

"Jo-chan," he sighed heavily, "I'm here for you…okay?"

"Thank you Sano," she replied in a soft voice, "I always know that you're here for me.  But…right now…so is Kenshin."

Sano looked at her like she was crazy.  What did she mean that Kenshin was here for her?  He was about to ask her what she meant when he suddenly saw a slight glow around Kaoru and moved back a bit.  _What the hell?_  As the faint glow continued, a form that was all too familiar began to take shape around Kaoru.  The faint glowing form had his arms wrapped around Kaoru's neck in a gentle way and he was kneeling behind her, resting his chin on top of her head.  His blue gi billowed slightly in an unseen wind that Sano didn't feel.

Oddly enough, he didn't carry a sakabatou, instead his eyes were a peaceful gentle violet and he had a small smile on his face.  The cross scar on his cheek was very faint, but Sano could still see it through the person's thin glow.

"Kenshin?" he whispered, rubbing his eyes, as he couldn't believe he saw the ghostly form of his long dead best friend.

The ghostly figure turned to him and Sano's eyes widened as he saw a smile appear on his face.  _Ahh!!  There is no way I can be seeing this…he's…he's supposed to be dead!  Holy shit!  I'm going crazy if I can see dead people!  Maybe I should say that I see dead people…_he tried to scream out loud if there was any possible way…but he was mesmerized by Kenshin's ghostly figure as it tilted his head.

_'I'm sorry Sano…for scaring you like this…'_a voice seemed to speak inside his head and Sano shook his violently.  _Shit, I have got to lay off the sake…_

_'No…it's not the sake Sanosuke…it is me…well…a form of me…'_the voice that sounded eerily like Kenshin continued in his head and Sano wearily looked up to see the ghostly form laughing silently…  _Laughing like Kenshin would…_

"So it's really you…Kenshin?" he whispered out loud and the ghostly figure nodded then placed a hand on Kaoru's shoulder.

_'I'm sorry that I scared you like that, that I am sorry for…but…I was always here…' _Kenshin smiled at Kaoru and Sano relaxed slightly.

"Why did you die, Kenshin?  We were supposed to grow old together…" he perfectly knew the reason why Kenshin died…but…he still couldn't accept it.  "If I had known that when you performed the Mitsurugi Ougi to cause all of this, then I wouldn't have let you do it…" he muttered mostly to himself.

_'I did it because I had to save Kaoru…I knew what was happening even before Megumi-dono told me,'_ Kenshin's expression didn't change as he mentally said all this.

"Sano…" Kaoru suddenly spoke up, startling him, "don't blame Kenshin…he knew."

"Jo-chan…" Sano heaved a weary sigh, "I don't blame him one bit…but…that still doesn't mean I like it."

_'You were always stubborn, Sanosuke Sagara,'_ Kenshin seemed to fade away and Sano held out a hand.

"Wait!  Where are you going?" he asked hastily.

_'I'll be here…just don't worry.  Even Kami needs my help once in a while,'_ Kenshin's mental voice seemed to fade away until the glow surrounding Kaoru was gone and Sano sat back.

"Kami needs you?  Damn Kenshin…that's either the lamest excuse or hell…it can't be true…" he rubbed his chin then glanced at Kaoru who had a bemused expression on her face.  "Oi, Jo-chan…what are you laughing about?"

"Nothing, Sano," Kaoru replied, laughing lightly, "but…I am surprised.  This is the first time Kenshin has ever revealed his form to anyone else but me…"

"Oi, you have got to be kidding me," Sano shook his head one more time before getting up and stretching slightly.  "If you need anyone to talk to, I'll be here, Jo-chan."

                                    *                      *                      *

It was very late at night, well past midnight Kenji suspected as he still laid in bed, his covers over him, the noises of the night muffled.  An occasional soft snore from the other occupant in his room was all the noise the he heard.  He sat up and glanced at his roommate, Iori, who normally lived here for a part of the year in a separate room, that had bunked with him for tonight since they needed some extra rooms for the guests that were over.

Careful, as not to wake Iori up, Kenji slipped out of his futon and grabbed his sakabatou, tightening the belt to his yukata as he slipped out of his room.  He paused for a second, listening to the sounds of sleeping people and quietly padded to the kitchen, wincing slightly as his sore back reminded him of his ungraceful way to get off the roof of the Dojo.  When the fireworks display had ended, he had finally realized that he had climbed the roof…and he didn't know how to get down.  Chizuru did him a favor, or what she called a favor, by pushing him off the room and he landed flat on his back…his eyes swirling dizzily.

Once in the kitchen he looked around and suddenly spotted it.  The vase with the two flowers inside.  Taking the white plum blossom out of the water he set the vase back down and smiled at the iris that seemed to glow at night.

Moving out of the kitchen, Kenji quietly slipped out of the house and headed to the side yard where the koi pond was.  Passing the koi pond his pace slowed as he approached the grave that was his father's.

Kneeling before the grave, he placed the flower across the dirt underneath the marble tombstone that marked where he was buried.  Sitting back on his haunches, he stared at the tombstone for a minute before closing his eyes.

_Otousan…I hope you're well wherever you are.  Okaasan and the others are fine…they're here today for the Summer Festival.  I brought you a white plum blossom because Shisho told me how much you loved them, even if I don't know the reason.  I think if I ask okaasan the reason, it'll hurt her so I won't ask.  I probably won't know the real reason why you love white plums, but if it makes okaasan happy, then I will get it._

_Besides, they smell very nice…almost like the hint of spring and winter that is leaving for summer.  Anyways, I've been studying hard…you know…about those books I told you last year?  Well, Katsu-san and I have been talking about it.  Oh right…you don't know Katsu-san.  Well…there's not much to talk about, about Katsu-san except for the fact that he knows a lot about explosives for some odd reason.  He seems very quiet when his past is concerned and I don't think prying would do any good._

_I remember that when I was younger…I used to hate you.  Looking back on that…heh…it seems to be distant and I realized that I was pretty childish.  I guess it's somewhere in your history that you decided to become a Rurouni…  Well, I'm not the one to ask about that part, but sometimes, some of the stories okaasan and her friends tell, it seems so incomplete, like I'm getting half the picture here._

_Anyways, I'm rambling now…and I'm sure that wherever you are, Gods be with you…  Oh yeah…Chizuru Raikouji says a hello…I think I love her…but that will have to be seen…_

Finishing his little chat with his father, Kenji opened his eyes and once more stared at the grave.  He felt a single tear fall from his eye and realized that he had been so selfish and foolish to be so angry with his father for such a long time.  Sighing softly, he got up and brushed his yukata off, then turned around and was about to take one step back when a breeze blew up, ruffling his long red hair.

He closed his eyes against the breeze, feeling it's cool touch on him.  Suddenly he felt as if a hand was resting on his shoulder and snapped open his eyes and whirled around.  No one was there, but the hand felt oddly familiar…

Looking down at his father's grave he swore that he saw a faint glowing hand reach out and held the white plum blossom a few centimeters high before the hand faded away and the blossom fell to the ground once more.  _Otousan…_he blinked in amazement then glanced up to see a star winking at him.  A smile formed on his lips and he grinned at the winking star.

                                    *                      *                      *


	5. Chance Meetings: The Return of the Unexp...

Beyond Rurouni Kenshin: The Meiji Era: Arashi no Hitomi (The Eye of the Storm)

By: Shadow Chaser

Started: 7/29/02.  Completed: 

**_Timeline: Meiji Era – 1898 (Meiji 30)_**

**Author's Notes/SPOILER WARNING:**

            This story is based mostly off of the manga version, with slight changes following the Episodes 1-63 of the anime series.  For those who have not read the Revenge Arc/Jinchuu Arc this will feature quite a bit of spoilers.  **Also for those who have not seen the 2nd OAV – Seishou Hen, this will also be featured in here.**  I changed some of the events in the OAV to suit my own purposes in this fic.  Pointer One: I kept Kaoru alive…for many reasons, which will be explained in the fic.  I do not own any of the Rurouni Kenshin characters; they belong to Watsuki Nobuhiro-sama who is the creator and God of Rurouni Kenshin.  Please do not sue for infringement.  This fic has more of the Rurouni Kenshin anime feel (slapstick silliness and seriousness at the same time).__

_Chapter 5 – Chance Meetings: The Return of the Unexpected…_

The morning found Kenji outside once more, walking up and down the streets of Tokyo, looking at some of the shops that were opening up early.  He said a few good mornings to some of the shopkeepers that knew him and made his way over to the burnt remains of the Akabeko.

A police guard was already posted there, warding away curious onlookers that did not know about yesterday's events.  He approached the guard carefully, as not to startle the poor guy who looked half exhausted and was ready for sleep.  "Ano…junsa-san," he addressed the guard politely.  "I was here yesterday and was wondering if I could examine the Akabeko…"

"Who are you?  There are already three other people in there who claim to be experts…what can you add to that?  Any why are you carrying a katana in broad daylight!" the officer suddenly jumped to attention and Kenji held up his hands in a gesture of peace.

"Shinju-san, stop it right now," a new voice that Kenji faintly recognize spoke up behind them and he turned around to see a fairly tall man with brown-grey slicked back hair and a brown mustache that looked to be graying severely.

Then it hit him who this person was…Aritomo Yamagata…one of the heads of the country of Japan.  This was the person that held most of the power over Tokyo…and this was the person that sent his father to the Sino-Japanese War.

If it was another lifetime at all, Kenji would have felt thankful for Yamagata's arrival, but now…he felt nothing except for an empty feeling and bitterness towards the old man.  Unconsciously his fist clenched and Kenji found himself wishing he could pull his sakabatou out of its sheath and deal this man a mortal blow.  It was him that sent his father to the damn Sino-Japanese War, him to ask the Hitokiri Battousai to once again help the ailing Meiji government by providing morale and by helping others when he himself was already health failing.

"Himura-san," Yamagata started and Kenji involuntarily tensed against his voice.  Though he had only met the Secretary of the State once or twice in his lifetime, he never liked the sweet-talk the government official usually spouted.  It made him feel disgusted against that oily voice.  Really, though, he never understood what his father had to do with Yamagata…and couldn't really care less for the government official.

Yamagata must have noticed his tense posture and how his hand was on the hilt of his sakabatou as he sighed once more and ran a hand through his balding brown-grey hair.  "Himura-san…I know you do not like to see me here, but there is something of urgency that I need to talk to you, Myojin-san, and Sagara-san at the moment."

"If it weren't for the fact that I had a sense honor, then I would have just walked away," Yahiko's voice spoke from behind and Kenji turned slightly to see his brother with an angry expression on his face…an anger that Kenji had never seen before.  Yahiko looked ready to explode with a fierce temper and he was shaking slightly.

"Yahiko…" he whispered, staring at him, eyes slightly wide.

"What do you want, Yamagata," Yahiko practically growled and Kenji noticed that some of the police officers that had surrounded them bristled and ready their guns and swords.  "I thought you already had enough fun to drag Kenshin back into the life of a war to wander even more when he was sick and now you want more from us?"

"How dare you speak to the Secretary of State like that!?  You insolent-" one of the officers suddenly spoke, drawing out his gun before a hand was placed on top of the gun.

"I wouldn't if I were you little man," Sanosuke stepped from behind the man, crushing his gun while he was entering the circle that had formed, some of the crowd trying to peek in to see what was going on.  Another person followed behind him and Kenji started slightly to see that it was his employer, Katsu Tsukioka.

"Katsu-san, Sanosuke…" he realized that all three men were the ones that had asked to examine the Akabeko, Katsu being an explosive expert…but was Katsu friends with both Sanosuke and Yahiko?

"I wouldn't even think of drawing your weapons," Yahiko's eyes had a dangerous glow in them, "we've had plenty experience in dealing with police officers like you.  And if you knew our reputations, you know that we would be able to cut you down in an instant."

"There is no need for threats, Myojin-san," Yamagata tried to keep the peace and Kenji blinked in surprise.  He had never seen his brother in such a pissed off mood…and he slightly hoped that Yahiko would never turn this way again in a long time.  "If you are willing, we can talk while walking.  I think some of the citizens are wondering what's going on at the moment."

"I'd rather stay here.  You can say what you want with everyone listening.  I'm sure it's something that will eventually get out into the public," Yahiko said sarcastically.

Kenji wisely didn't say anything as he sensed that his brother wasn't in the mood to calm down or trifle with anything else.  It was as if all of his frustrations and anger at Yamagata was coming through a very tightly closed barrier.

Yamagata could obviously sense that he was losing a battle of words and emotions as he finally heaved a heavy sigh and raked a hand through his hair, his composure a bit flustered.  "Very well then," glancing at his officers, they nodded and began to disperse the crowd that had gathered, saying that there was nothing to see and to move along.

The crowd reluctantly backed away, but some still lingered a bit near their position, eager to hear what the Secretary of State was to say to the protector of Tokyo and his friends.

"I have information you are looking for, about the bombing of the Akabeko.  I know who did this atrocious act," Yamagata's announcement floored everyone within the circle.

                                    *                      *                      *

Chizuru Raikouji adjusted the bow to her dark green white blossom speckled kimono one more time.  It was already mid-morning and she had already helped Kaoru finish the morning chores.  Now as a good guest, she must take her leave.  Grabbing the duffle pouch that held her gi and hakama, as well as her money pouch, she placed her shinai across a knotted area.  Picking up the small bag-pouch, she stepped out of her room, a single bedroom that she had shared with the two Genzai sisters.  Though they were married, they mostly kept an eye on Kaoru's Dojo for her since the woman was of weak health and couldn't do all the chores by herself. 

The other guests had gone out for the morning to do their own activities, and only Megumi Takani, the famous doctor from Aizu was within the Dojo complex, her daughter playing outside with Suzume Genzai.  Megumi had taken to check on Kaoru's health and as far as Chizuru knew, they were sipping tea together and talking about the old times.  The Shinomori family had left early, saying that they had to get back to Kyoto because of the matters of running their inn/restaurant, the Aoiya.  Though it was pleasant to meet them, Chizuru was actually a little scared of both Misao and her husband.  They seemed to be more than just owners of the Aoiya…

Walking out of the Dojo and past the walls, she made her way down to the other streets of Tokyo, carefully avoiding the Akabeko area which she knew would be crowded and she would probably be tempted to by a few trinkets or something in the busy city area.  A few women passing by her glanced at the bundle she held in her hands as she walked, some whispering to the other about the shinai or why she carried such a bundle.  Though Chizuru knew that it was slightly unheard of for women to be learning kenjutsu in this day and age, she didn't really feel offended by it.  It was common to her.

Walking past the two bridges that connected one side of Tokyo to the other, she smiled as she entered her home street, looking and remembering it's familiar stores, sights, and sounds.  She let out a content sigh and breathed in the smells of her home area.

Stopping in front of a huge metal gate, Chizuru nodded to the guardsman that was stationed by the gate to her home.  The guard acknowledged her and opened the creaking gate.  She walked past the guard and glanced up at the huge mansion expanse that was her home.  Laughing lightly, she wondered if Kenji had ever seen her house…_probably not_, she mused silently and continued to her front door.

Knocking gently on her front door, which was at least two and a half times the size of her, the door swung open to reveal the butler that worked for her family.

"Chizuru-dono!  You're home!" the butler said in a happy voice and Chizuru smiled.

"Hai, Seiji-san.  I hope my family received my pigeon message last night saying that I was to stay at the Kamiya Dojo for dinner and sleep," she asked, tilting her head slightly in question.

"Hai, hai, they did-"

"Chizuru!" the high voice of her mother came down from the spiraling staircase and she looked up to see her usual black hair artfully done up in curls and tied in a tight bun.  She wore a long bottle green dress laced with gold edges and the skin that showed from her neck was something even Chizuru knew that wasn't allowed in Japanese society.  Her mother practically looked like a foreigner.  But then again, the Raikouji family had always been one of the first families in Tokyo and Japan to receive the latest fashion, housing, and food from the foreign countries Japan was trading with.

"Okaasan," she greeted formally with a bow.

"Now, now dear," her mother smiled and waved off the formality, "there is no need for such formalities in such a quaint household.  Seiji-kun, please see to Christine's bags and such.  You won't be needing the wooden bamboo thing for a while."

Chizuru winced inwardly as her mother clucked and picked at her kimono.  She hated the name Christine.  Her mother who loved all of the foreign things she was swamped with gave it to her.  Even their home was basically built with oil lamps and the latest technology from the European worlds and the Americas.  If it weren't for the fact that her mother still kept some of her Japanese vocabulary and the punishments for a disobedient daughter, she would have thought that her mother had turned completely into a foreigner.

"But okaasan-"

"Call me Mother, Christine, Mother.  Not okaasan…it's too formal," her mother corrected a bit harshly and she bit her lip from saying anything else.

"Mother," she emphasized, "what about my lessons at the Kamiya Dojo?"

"Nonsense, dear, you do not need any of those lessons anymore.  A respectable girl like you shouldn't go around getting dirty rolling around dirt.  A girl like you should be able to learn the manners and courtesy to become a good wife for your husband.  Besides, you are already of marriageable age," her mother smiled wistfully then suddenly frowned, "I don't know why your father gets those silly notions for you to be learning kenjutsu.  Honestly."

"But mother…"

"No buts Christine," her mother said in a stern voice then took her hand, "now let's get you out of these…things…and get you into a dress that I've recently acquired!  Yes!  That will do.  That's what you must see them in!"

"See who?" Chizuru tried to keep up with her mother's rapid steps up the stairs and to her room.

"A very good friend of mine.  I haven't seen him for over ten years.  Not since he left his self-imposed exile in China and came back.  He has a son, you know…a very handsome and groomed young man.  Maybe the two of you should go to the inner city tonight for the Summer Festival," her mother kept blabbing on as they entered her room and she locked the door then proceeded to take a few different colored dresses out of her closet.

Chizuru made it an effort not to wrinkle her nose against all the dresses that were piling on her bed.  Instead of a futon that normal Japanese people slept on, she had one of those fluffy European beds that felt like she was about to sink into.  It hurt her back whenever she slept on it, so she had taken to sleeping against the wall, her blankets draped around her, and in the morning, before the maids or her mother came in to wake her up usually, she would hop back into the fluffy thing and pretend that she was asleep.

"Now…let's see…ah!  The white one should be presentable for them!" she held up an extremely large white fabric to which Chizuru tried to suppress a snort of laughter, but was only half successful.  "What's so funny, Christine?" her mother glared at her, lowering what looked like a white bed cloth.

"Nothing, oka-erm…Mother," she replied, keeping her eyes downcast as not to laugh again when she saw the white dress.

"Well then, take off that kimono and put this on!" her mother clapped her hands and Chizuru sighed as she began undoing the large tie on her back.

Half and hour later, and choking on the garter that she was forced to wear in order to fit into the dress' small waist, Chizuru looked at herself in the mirror and inwardly suppressed a groan.  She looked like a china doll.

"Aww…how cute!  He will certainly love this dress and you do look splendid in this," her mother practically cooed and she tried to shift a bit.

"Mother…I can't really breathe," she tired to say, but all that came out was a soft whisper.

"There, there…Christine…it's okay.  You're supposed to not really breathe in deep gasps.  That's not like a lady.  You're an angel, the pride and joy of Raikouji family.  Now, come, child.  We shall meet our guest."  Her mother offered a hand to her to which Chizuru took reluctantly.

As they were walking into the tearoom, she prayed silently to whatever Gods there were to save her from this embarrassment.  _If only Kenji knew…_she silently thought to herself as she walked, trying not to feel so faint from the lack of air the dress was trying to hamper her from.  As of now…she wished she was Kaoru Kamiya's daughter instead of this frivolous woman's…or any other person's daughter.

"Ah!" her mother suddenly exclaimed upon opening the door to the tea room, "Yukishiro-san, allow me to introduce my daughter, Chizuru Christine Raikouji."

Chizuru looked up to see two men…one of whom had a shock of white hair and a lean form.  He carried something long that was wrapped up, but she figured it had to be a katana or something to be that long.  But what caught her eye was a young man, not much older than Kenji's best friend Iori.  He had black hair that hung in long layers, tied at the nape of his neck with a string cord.  His brilliant blue eyes sparkled and his smile was a luminous white.

"Teresa-san," the man with the white hair spoke, "this is my son, Sawato Yukishiro."

                                    *                      *                      *

It was still a blur to him as Kenji found himself walking back home with Sano and Yahiko, the two men in front of him, silent and imposing.  Though he didn't blame them, the two men had a right to stay silent because of all the anger they had bore down upon Yamagata.

The Secretary of State had explained to them that the people that had caused the explosion at the Akabeko were a rebel faction who fell from grace during Meiji 11 among the Shishio faction.  They were dissatisfied with what Makoto Shishio and Houji of the Hundred Senses had promised them.  And especially angry to see that Henya, the flying bat-man and the other members of the Juppon Gatana had been defeated so easily.

Teaming up with some of the more corrupt members of Japan's highest society and within the government, they have tried to strike at civilian targets to make their statement.  In Kyoto and all of the other major cities like Osaka, Kobe, Tokyo, and Sendai there had been civilian bombings, nothing so major as a heavily populated area, but enough to warrant some casualties and injuries to civilians.

Yamagata had also told them that there could have been shadow agents working with these corrupt people, possibly the Sanada ninjas, but it wasn't confirmed.  He had then practically begged them to look into the matter, to help the government stop this internal rebellion as it was getting way out of hand.

_"Please!  I beg of you, stop them-"_

_"How, old man?" Sanosuke asked, looking very bored with the whole thing._

_"The leader of the people is currently located in Tokyo…but we don't exactly know where.  All we know is that he will be bombing another target within the Summer Festival days.  He has already slain many of the police force, and we would have sent in our army except for the fact that they are occupied with other things," Yamagata looked desperate, something Kenji had never seen him do._

_"I say we just leave this Meiji government to rot," Sano snorted derisively, making a few officers bristle once more with hostility._

_"I would follow your lead Sano," Yahiko started but shook his head, "but I've seen too many suffer already.  My family, my friends…as the protector of Tokyo, it's my job to eliminate this rabble.  So then, Yamagata, who's their leader?"_

_Yamagata suddenly replaced his desperation look with one of a somber face, "He has escaped his self-imposed exile in China for the last ten years…and he's the one that sold the Rengoku battleship to Makoto Shishio."_

_Something within that statement obviously made both Sano and Yahiko look at him warily, almost a hunted look on their face.  But they had replaced those looks with one of grimness and what Kenji thought was pure fury, though contained.  Did Yahiko and Sano know whom Yamagata was talking about?  He sure as hell didn't even know and glanced at the two of them with a confused expression on his face._

_"So…the ugly tiger rears it's head again, ne?" Sano spit the fishbone out of his mouth and sighed heavily._

_"Enishi Yukishiro," Kenji heard Yahiko whisper the name venomously._

Who was Enishi Yukishiro?  As far as Kenji heard, his mother or friends did not mention the name, yet both Yahiko and Sano were familiar with the name.  "Yahiko, Sano…who's Enishi Yukishiro?" he asked hesitantly.

The two of them suddenly stopped walking, making Kenji nearly crash into the "Aku" sign on the back of Sanosuke's white jacket.  As one, they turned around and he backpedaled a bit to see such horrible expressions on their face.

"You tell him, Yahiko.  I don't exactly know the whole story and I've tried to forget some parts," Sano looked away in discomfort and scratched the back of his head.

"Before I tell you this story, like all the others that you've heard when you were growing up…this one you must not repeat to your mother or to anyone else.  Because this story is the one that eventually killed your father, from a certain point of view," Yahiko's voice was so grim that Kenji could only nod and stare at his brother with wide eyes.

_A part of father's past…that eventually killed him?  What happened?_ Kenji wondered then pulled himself from his thoughts as he realized that Yahiko was starting the story.

"Enishi Yukishiro…is…in a twisted way…your uncle…"

                                    *                      *                      *

It was nearly two hours later and Kenji was reeling from the facts of the story that his brother had told him.  It was as if so many questions he had about his father was summarized through this piece of history that he was never told about.  He had found out about his father as the Hitokiri Battousai, why he became a Rurouni after killing his first wife, Tomoe Yukishiro, and why Enishi Yukishiro factored into the whole thing.  He had also found out about the madman's cruel act against his mother and father, posing that his mother was dead and driving Kenshin to a deep despair only to have him recover afterwards, weakened in health…but…that was the curious part.  Yahiko had said that the battles his father fought against Enishi were the ones that eventually killed him…so…how?

"Yahiko," he asked once they had started to walk back to the Dojo, the sun now beating down upon them at an angle and Kenji realized that he had not eaten in quite a while, but he didn't feel too hungry.

"Aa, Kenji?" Yahiko seemed a bit distracted and he couldn't blame him.

"How did this battle make my father die in the long run?" it seemed like an indifferent question, but Yahiko bowed his head and heaved a deep sigh.

"I can't tell you the reason," his brother finally said after a few minutes of walking in silence, "it's for your own protection…"  With that, he suddenly disappeared into the entrance of the Kamiya Dojo, followed quickly by Sanosuke, the two of them leaving Kenji outside the entrance to his own musings.

"Protection?  Protect me from what?" Kenji mused mostly to himself then suddenly felt a surge of anger.  How dare they…he was already an adult by his own conscience and he didn't need their protection.

Jaw set, he walked in and looked around to see where did Yahiko go to, but couldn't find him anywhere.  He saw Tsubame, back from her morning trek in the city, folding up the laundry that was from yesterday, little Shin-ya playing by himself near the clothesline.  He took one step towards her when a hand touched his shoulder lightly, startling him.

"You need your hand checked, Kenji," Megumi's voice was kind and thoughtful, not at all the playful one he had heard yesterday and he tilted his head.

"Can't it wait, Megumi-san?" he asked, looking around to see if Yahiko had appeared anywhere.

"No.  Not at the moment, Kenji.  If we don't replace the bandages, the damage to your hand might be a lot worst," she reluctantly dragged him into the main building of the dojo.

_I'll find you Yahiko and then we'll talk about who's protecting who_, Kenji made a grim promise as he walking in behind Megumi.

                                    *                      *                      *


End file.
